Tennis Laver Cup: A break from loneliness

The Laver Cup is a show match between the best professionals, where the main aim is to get the advertising partners in the picture. Tennis is also played.

True joy: Carlos Alcaraz with the trophy after his decisive victory for Team Europe Photo: Annegret Hilse/reuters

Berlin taz | Roger Federer, who retired from active professional tennis two years ago, was very present at the Laver Cup, the big tennis show that took place in Berlin this year. During the breaks in the matches, he was repeatedly seen on the arena’s video monitors as a testimonial for a US luxury eyewear brand. Cool, casual, elegant, just as you would expect from him.

And in the glossy magazine that was printed especially for the event, he was featured on every other page as a brand ambassador for all kinds of things in the Rolex price range. Former tennis pros seem to have completely different options than an ex-footballer like Lothar Matthäus, who has to advertise for a dubious betting company and a car pawn shop.

The Swiss and his management company are co-inventors of the spectacular Laver Cup, named after the Australian tennis legend Rod Laver. It took place for the first time seven years ago and was an immediate success. The mixture of show, glamour, a large number of stars and good tennis was also well received in Berlin.

There was a lot of grumbling about the high ticket prices, but during the three days in which a “Team World” fought against a “Team Europe” for a trophy and decent prize money, the hall, which had space for almost 15,000 spectators, was pretty well attended most of the time. Federer himself was against Boris Becker, Basti Schweinsteiger and others, which also ensured a certain celebrity factor during the event.

Well marketed is half the battle

There is a lot of clever marketing behind the Laver Cup. A tournament whose sporting value is manageable – after all, no world ranking points are awarded here – is a huge event for every tennis fan that everyone just has to be there for – but that is something that has to be achieved. But luring people with all the superlatives and top-class stars works.

This year’s Laver Cup was promoted with the idea of ​​being able to see some of the best tennis players in the world in action. In the end, a few of the really big names, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djocovic and Jannik Sinner, the current number one in the world rankings, had to be left out. Many friends were especially looking forward to Nadal. Federer played his last match on the big stage during a Laver Cup; there was speculation as to whether Nadal might even do the same in Berlin. But the star power was still immense even without Nadal. Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, and also the up-and-coming young American Ben Shelton, who offered exciting serve-and-volley tennis in his performances, were there.

The art and manner in which the Laver Cup is played contributes to its appeal. Two legendary head coaches, both from the era when players competed with wooden rackets, lead their teams. Since the invention of the competition, the quiet Swede Björn Borg has been the European and his former favorite opponent on the court, the former tennis bully John McEnroe, the world selection.

For three days, they sat on the benches from midday to evening with the players they nominated and gave tips that their protégés might even try to implement on the court. The almost touching message here is that the young can still learn something from the older generation.

True team spirit

No one is as lonely as a tennis player on the court, it is often said. Coaching is now allowed at major tournaments, but only through shouts or sign language from the spectators. No one sits next to you when you change sides and offers encouragement or hands you a water bottle.

In Berlin, however, when Alexander Zverev ultimately tried unsuccessfully to score points for his team against the American Taylor Fritz, not only was Borg sitting next to the German, who was quickly becoming grandfatherly, but his fellow competitors from “Team Europe” were also constantly jumping up from their seats and talking to him.

Even the Russian Daniil Medvedev, who is not necessarily said to have the best relationship with the currently best tennis player in Germany, eventually caught up with Zverev after an initial lack of enthusiasm.

An individual sport that can also be presented well in the structure of a team – that used to work well in the Davis Cup national competition before it lost a lot of its importance. The fun that the players who were not on the court had in Berlin showed that they were actually enjoying the unusual togetherness instead of the eternal competition.

But they weren’t here in Berlin just for the good time and the bonuses. Daniil Medvedev, for example, would have liked to win his singles match against Ben Shelton. When he realized that the party was getting out of hand, he threw his racket several meters in anger. And right at the end, when things were still really exciting late on Sunday evening and the singles match between Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz was supposed to decide which team would win the Laver Cup on points this year, the Spaniard’s joy seemed pretty genuine when he secured the decisive victory for his team.